The Life of a Hero is Never Easy

My Hero Academia S2 Ep 3 Review

If there’s one benefit that Vigilantes has over My Hero Academia, it’s that its more low-stakes story enables it to focus more on the slice-of-life aspects of being a hero. Most great superheroes at least attempt to have a life outside the costume, and it’s those moments that helped to humanize them. Or, in the case of that mysterious speedster villain, show how far removed they seem to be from humanity as this episode focuses on those ups and downs of the game of heroes and villains.

LOL, All Might is So Adorkable

The episode opens up in what has to be both the most fantastic yet silliest way possible: All Might stopping three giant Kaiju in Okinawa, before leaping back into the sky on his way. Keep in mind, Vigilantes either takes place around or just before the time he and All for One have the fight that almost kills them both, so this is when the hero is still in his relative prime. And he’s as good as we think he was…and just as adorkable when he’s not on duty.

I really liked seeing the meetups between All Might in his civilian guise and Officer Tsukauchi. They have a relationship like Batman and Commissioner Gordon, with Tsukauchi being one of the few who knows who All Might really is. Seeing the hero panic when he sees Tsukauchi’s injuries and sheepishly giving him gifts from grateful citizens is incredibly heartwarming. They are as close as friends can hope to be, and it’s clear it goes both ways. After all, Tsukauchi gives All Might his own gifts and, while not seen in the anime, it’s shown that he handles all the paperwork for the spontaneous acts of heroism that he does. Tsukauchi is a good friend to have in the force.

Or, if you’re Makoto, a big pain. Naomasa knows that his sister knows the real identities of PopStep and the Crawler, and he disapproves of their vigilantism. But Makoto refuses to sell them out. Even worse for him, she’s so smart that if he says the wrong thing, she’ll learn things that are meant to be kept private. For example, using the gift bag he got from All Might, she figures out he knows someone at his agency. That’s incredibly close to the truth, and he can’t afford her getting in over her head!

It still makes what he does next funny, though. He uses the bath salts All Might got for Makoto for himself, and is embarrassed by how nice everyone thinks he smells.

Who is this Guy?

As all this is happening, we see the mysterious speedster who attacked the idol event training and talking to All for One. At the same time, the cops are busy looking for more info on this attacker, and they come to a surprising revelation. As it stands, this attacker’s Quirk is very similar in nature to a hero that hasn’t been heard from in a while: O’Clock. They were also a speedster and part of the last generation of heroes, but they dropped off the face of the earth years ago. This new O’Clock is too young to be the original, and there is the potential for a Quirk to appear twice in different people. However, given how this villain is working for All for One, it’s more likely the Quirk was stolen and given to him. Either way, that’s not good.

Koichi’s New Move

Meanwhile, Koichi and Kazuho resume their vigilante activities as Koichi continues to experiment with his Quirk some more. He already learned he could use Slide and Glide to stick to objects like Spider-Man, but in this episode, he learns a power that not even Spidey has. He can use his Quirk to fire propulsion blasts from his palms like he’s Iron Man! At first, he’s happy to find something that can help fight offensively, and is eager to show off to Kazuho. As soon as he does, though, he breaks one of his windows. Which is something that Knuckleduster would do, not him.

They both agree that the power is too great.

Don’t Be Like Knuckleduster

It’s nice to see how even though they both miss Knuckleduster, they haven’t forgotten about his faults. Well-meaning as he might have been, Knuckleduster was still a very uncouth, violent, and inconsiderate guy who roped them into this life against their will. Neither of them wants to be like him, and so they use him as an image of what not to be. As Koichi puts it, he’s still teaching them something even after leaving. It’s funny, but still sweet.

There wasn’t a lot of action going on in this episode, but I don’t think that that’s necessarily a bad thing. Like I said, the lowkey stakes means that the show can focus more on the everyday lives of the characters. And one thing I’ve learned about writing a good Shonen manga is that the supporting cast needs time to grow. That way, they can support the main protagonist so they don’t have to carry the story. The next episode, though, looks to be focusing more on one of the coolest characters in the franchise, Eraser Head. Considering how he’s like another Batman for MHA, I’m looking forward to learning more about him. Go beyond, PLUS ULTRA!!!

I Give “Public and Private” a 3/5

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